Thanks to funding from the Park County Parks and Recreation Board and the Powell Foundation, the Powell Golf Club’s irrigation system is getting an upgrade.

The club’s board of directors explained in a recent letter to the Powell City Council that the city-owned course’s irrigation system is “very old” and needed a filtration system. 

“We are having tremendous problems each year with sediment and silt getting into the system,” the letter said. Addressing the issue requires a lot of time — and it gets expensive when the $140 sprinkler heads need to be replaced. 

The board decided it could save money with a filtration system and purchased two of them from Casper-based CPS Distributors — one for the front end of the irrigation system and another for the back end — at a total cost of $19,435.40. 

The Park County Parks and Recreation Board provided funding for one of two filters, and the Powell Foundation agreed to fund the other. However, the foundation’s grant must come through the City of Powell. 

Pat Day, president of the Powell Golf Course Board of Directors, approached the council last week to ask the city to be the fiscal agent for the grant, which the council agreed to do. 

Even though the request won’t cost the city any money, the council must adjust its budget to account for the funds going into the city’s coffers and on to the golf course.

Since the systems have been paid for up front with golf course funds and are currently being installed, Day said it wouldn’t be a problem if the city included the funding in the budget for the next fiscal year. 

“That’ll save us the trouble of a budget amendment,” said Mayor John Wetzel.

Meanwhile, the funds will be distributed to the golf course in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. 

In its letter, the board thanked the City of Powell for its past financial assistance, which has allowed the course to update its equipment fleet with two greens mowers, purchase additional gas-powered carts and help buy a tractor, in addition to other improvements. 

“The assistance you have offered, in connection with the help from Park County Recreation Board, has allowed us to improve our course and offer a better product to the community each summer,” the golf board’s letter said.